Life Habits: Determination
By Jeffrey Anderson

When you look up the word determination in The Living Webster Encyclopedic Dictionary of the English Language, instead of Mike Edwards’ picture, you’ll find the following definition:

Noun. The act of deciding; firm resolution; settled purpose; the mental habit of settling upon some line of action with a fixed purpose adhered to it; adherence to aims or purposes; resoluteness; an inclination or proceeding toward a particular end or object. 

Determination is not a teachable skill, like hitting a baseball or shooting a free throw, but an intangible force that resides within, which when called upon will not let us quit until our goal is achieved. Now, to answer the question that is foremost in your minds - Just who is Mike Edwards? Well, he is a 6-foot, 5-inch freshman reserve forward on the University of Notre Dame’s basketball team and his life’s story is a prime example of what determination is all about. Born January 8, 1980 in Salinas, CA, Mike is the oldest of five siblings. He entered this world without a fibula in his lower right leg.

The limb also had no ankle and only four toes. The resulting effect of weight bearing, even as a small child, left the tibia bent. At age 1 and with amputation as the only alternative to correct the problem, Mike’s parents decided to forgo the surgery and wait until Mike was old enough to provide some input in the decision. Their hope was that in the interim medical science would provide some other solution, but that was not the case and in September of 1994, after being plagued by severe pain in his right hip, Mike, age 13, opted for the surgery. "While a lot of kids were thinking about who they were going to ask out the next day or what video game they going to buy the next day, I was contemplating whether or not to keep my leg," Edwards said. "I haven’t looked back since that day."

Prior to having the lower leg removed Mike had dealt with pain on a daily basis, but post-operative pain came as a result of the ever-changing pressure point of his prosthesis due to his physical growth. And as his love of sports grew, it became necessary for him to ice his leg nightly. "It was two to three hours every single night and I would sit there and do my homework with this big bucket of ice, that my mother would fill up with ice trays. It was extremely cold and I hated it, but I knew that if I didn’t do it I wouldn’t be able to play sports the next day," Edwards said.

As a military brat, Mike lived in various places growing up. At age 6, while his father was stationed in South Bend, he discovered Notre Dame and fell in love with the Irish tradition. The family left, but returned in time for Mike’s senior year in high school with his love of the Irish still intact. "Notre Dame is a place where dreams come true," Edwards said. "My dream was to play basketball." Upon his family’s return to South Bend in 1996, Mike, who has never looked at himself as different, decided to play organized basketball for the first time and tried out for the team at Adams High School. Determined to keep his disability a secret, Mike practiced and played in sweat pants, telling his coaches and teammates that he wore a brace because of an injury.

The mystery was finally resolved on the team bus following a preseason scrimmage when half the team saw Edwards remove his prosthesis, turn it around and reattach it. He then walked into the restaurant where they were eating with it facing backwards, to the surprise of his other teammates. "I think that if I present myself in a humorous way, it not only makes me feel comfortable around anyone – it also makes them more comfortable," Edwards said. Edwards has proven to be an inspiration to everyone he meets. His determination and drive is a testament to the true power of the human spirit.

"I don’t have a leg, and I’m playing Division I basketball," Edwards said. "I play basketball for those who can’t. I’m representing those who can’t get up and walk and shoot the ball."